If my memory is correct, the "English Guitar" that was used in earlier times was nearly identical to the "Portuguese Guitar" , which is pretty much the same instrument as the Spanish Bandurria, which is also the same as the Renaissance Cittern, which was/is a different instrument entirely from the modern cittern, which is actually a modified version of the bouzouki. The short answer (and we're now too far in for a short answer) is that it wasn't actually a guitar.